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David Pocock waits on judiciary as Allan Alaalatoa thrives on Wallabies call up

Posted by admin on 10/07/2018

Brumbies prop Allan Alaalatoa was invited into Wallabies camp as he edges closer to a Test debut Photo: Rohan Thomson Dejected: David Pocock after dropping a pass during the round six Super Rugby match between the Brumbies and the Chiefs at GIO Stadium. Photo: Mark Metcalfe

The ACT Brumbies were deciding on Monday night how to plead to two charges that threaten to rule David Pocock out for at least one week of the Super Rugby season.

Pocock will front a preliminary judicial hearing on Tuesday morning to determine whether the Brumbies will accept punishment or choose to fight to clear the star openside flanker’s name.

Pocock has never been suspended in a decade of Super Rugby and Test action for the Wallabies.

But if the SANZAAR judiciary decides he is guilty of breaching Law 10.4 (e) and 10.4 (m), a low-end suspension would carry a combined six-week punishment.

Privately Super Rugby teams fear the inconsistency of SANZAAR judicial proceedings, with many likening it to the unpredictable wheel of death when players are cited.

There are two camera angles of Pocock grabbing Chiefs’ No. 8 Michael Lietch, who appeared to tap Pocock on the arm in a bid to get him to release in a rolling maul last weekend.

However, the backwards process requires Pocock to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty before knowing what punishment the judiciary is considering.

SANZAAR has been known to appeal its own judiciary findings to have players suspended in a farcical twist to the system.

Pocock’s hearing was delayed while he was in Sydney for a Wallabies camp to prepare the team for the upcoming mid-year Tests against England.

Prop Allan Alaalatoa grew up dreaming of following in his dad’s Test rugby footsteps and the ACT Brumbies prop is using family history to fuel his bid for a shock Wallabies call up in June.

Alaalatoa was part of a the Brumbies’ contingent invited to a Wallabies camp in Sydney on Sunday and Monday as coach Michael Cheika turns the players’ attention to a the England blockbusters.

It comes 25 years after Alaalatoa’s dad Vili played for Samoa at the 1991 World Cup and well ahead of schedule for 22-year-old Allan who’s establishing himself on the Brumbies’ bench.

Alaalatoa has formed a loosehead prop tag team effort with Scott Sio this season and their combination could catapult them into a Wallabies rotation.

“I’ve watched the videos of when dad played and that’s always been in the back of my mind, playing at those big stadiums in big games,” Alaalatoa said.

“These camps give you a taste and that makes you even more eager to try to get there. It’s rewarding for the work you’ve put in and something you cherish as well.

“I was just in camp trying to listen and learn as much as I can. I haven’t really thought about playing in that Test series, I just want to see what [Cheika] has to say. But it’s good to know you’re on that radar.”

A meeting between Canberra club rugby presidents the Brumbies board was postponed on Monday night after the directors got legal advice not to be engaged in an open forum.

The board is involved in ongoing proceedings with chief executive Michael Jones after its decision to stand down Jones two weeks ago.

The club presidents have requested an extraordinary general meeting for April 21 to gather more information on why Jones was stood down and the Brumbies’ financial position.

Jones and the board are still waiting for Justice Richard Refshauge to make a decision in the ACT Supreme Court as to whether the board can stand down Jones.

Club presidents wanted answers about why a trust fund had not been set up for community rugby following the $11.375 million sale of the Brumbies’ Griffith headquarters and a subsequent move to the University of Canberra.

The majority of club presidents have seen the detailed KPMG report into the move from Griffith to the university that forms Jones’ defence under whistleblower legislation.

The players have managed to avoid being caught on the off-field battle, with Alaalatoa and a host of his Brumbies teammates putting one eye on a series against England.

Australian junior representative Alaalatoa has played just 19 Super Rugby games and started in only three, but is on Cheika’s hitlist.

Sio was the Wallabies’ first-choice loosehead prop at the World Cup with James Slipper, who is coming back from injury, as the back-up.

This story Administrator ready to work first appeared on Nanjing Night Net.